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I've recently gotten back into MWO several weeks ago. The most disappointing thing I've been greeted with my coming back is the poorly designed cookie cutter skill rating system that is for the most part, just a big complex algorithm that breaks down to just whether you win or lose a match and not based upon your actual skill as a pilot. This links into a discussion about matchmaking BASED upon skill rating as a determination for match ups in the gameplay.
Everytime I have lost a match, no matter WHAT I have done in the way of playing, my skill goes down MASSIVELY. If I win a match it either stays as is or barely ticks a nanometer up. This is more so indicating that despite whatever the developers will claim is a big complex algorithm, it sums up to whether you win or lose a match not matter how well you actually did in the match. This has become a massively rampant problem all throughout the multiplayer, pvp gaming world in which developers make up some lengthy line of code that only gets based upon whether a player won or lost their match and effects their skill only on that ONE condition. Then they get teamed UP with, not against, players of similar skill which it based upon, did these players lose a match or win a match, at which point, each pilot is matched up with people who either lost their previous match or won it. But they can end up matched against a group of players far more highly skilled than them who win most of their matches and thus ends in the result of a discouraging to continue playing trouncing the losing players get put through. A players skill has not been based solely on the player themselves since the days of Halo 2. Since then its been based on how well has a player's TEAM done in winning or losing a match.
Trust me as I have studied this through reviewing of games AND in my college degree of game design. When a player is being rated upon THEIR skill it should be THEIR skill and THEIR skill alone and not based upon whether they win or lose a match. Thus I would like to convince, or least put a 4inch long bug in the developers' ears about stepping up to the plate, saying no to failed cookie cutter skill base rating systems and finally make one to base upon actual pilot skills. To help:
A pilots skill rating tier should be based upon what you see in the end results of the game. All the points they scored during a match for what they did. But here is the deal, a players skill rating should NEVER decrease AT ALL, except under ONE condition, team damaging and killing. Player SHOULD be punished for being [Redacted] to their team. But as it was abused in Halo 2 which lead to the ending of actual skill rating and lead to simple win/loss rating, players who do such to try and drop their skill ratings inorder to fight lesser players should never lose a skill rating, even if they lose all progress they make skill wise to increase their rating. It just cant go up, thus keeping those abusers battling skilled players. Though if they continue such gameplay they should be dealt with as Rockstar Games and several others have done. Put them in the [Redacted] matchmaking lists, have them matched up with players just like them [Redacted].
You can give players a goal to reach in each match. And the higher a skill tier is the higher the goal. Such as so many points are needed to be earned in a match to gain some skill rating. That way they lazy ones don't just sit there do a little damage but get rewarded for it, instead they have to work for it if they wanna rank up. So say if they lose a match or damage a friendly, they lose points, which can keep them from reaching the goal to gain skill rating. If they win a match they can get a bonus to help. But all in all, a player can truly be rated upon their actual skill which wont be built up like an Exp meter but can still reflect their actual skill and allow them to increase that skill, but never decrease it simply cause their teamed lost a match despite how good their performance was, nor have it decrease below their current rating. Only time they should lose progress would be when it involves team killing and lots of team damaging. That is when progress begins to decrease. Otherwise progress will increase as a player increases their skill.
From that, actually basing it upon their skill, the match making can be setup to were players of the same skill or skill right below and perhaps even right above their rating, depending on how large the player community is, can be matched up randomly on BOTH teams for a match and no longer basing the setup on a Winner VS Loser take. This way players get matched up with those of actual skill rating based upon THEIR actual skill in the game and not have to be so one sided 95% of the time.
Implementing this ACTUAL skill based system for a skill rating along with matchmaking setup based off the actual skill rating of a player will help improve multiplayer dramatically along with keeping players happy and more into playing the game along with giving them something to strive for in increasing their skill. It just wont punish them for having an off day, or having the bad luck of being on crappy teams, or allow trolls to bring down the fun of the game.
Edited by draiocht, 23 June 2017 - 06:53 AM.
inappropriate language
